Heart of Steel

As the mercenary captain of the Lady Corsair, Yasmeen has learned to keep her heart as cold as steel, her loyalty bound to her ship and crew. So when a man who once tried to seize her airship returns from the dead, she'll be damned if she gives him another opportunity. But treasure-hunter Archimedes Fox isn't interested in the Lady Corsair - he wants her coldhearted captain and the valuable da Vinci sketch she stole from him. To reclaim it, he's determined to seduce the woman who once tossed him to a ravenous pack of zombies.

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I cannot say enough good things about Meljean Brook and this series. I want to live in this world! It is so vivid and fully realized. The characters are fun and intriguing and the romance feels earned and real. Great read!

Monikan21
Mar 29, 2015

Book 2 of the Iron Seas, preceded by Iron Duke and then the epilogue novella 1.5- Mina Wentworth and the Invisible City, and followed by an epilogue novella 2.5 - Tethered and then by book #3 - Riveted. This was an exciting book about Yasmeen, the Captain of an airship Lady Corsair and Archimedes Fox, the hero of all Archimedes Fox adventures written by his sister. It was not as good as the first book, but still enjoyable. I found the history and background too confusing and a little boring. Both Yasmeen and Archimedes were great, loveable characters.

As an airship captain, Yasmeen has learn to not trust me who tell her they love her. Too often, they want what she has and are not to be trusted. Even the legendary Archimedes Fox tried to take over her ship once. Yasmeen tossed him back into zombie infested Venice for that. Now he's back, and pulling her into a web of assassins, debt and rebellion. With her ship destroyed, she has no choice but to work with Fox, but can she keep her principles in the face of such a situation.

Another great Steampunk romance from Brook. Again, her world build is rich and just fun to fall into. Her main characters are nuanced and believable. What she needs to work on are the secondary characters. The ones in this book, with a few exceptions, verge on the cartoonish. The sex scenes move closer to the romance fiction norm than in the first book.

Worth picking up.

odderie
Nov 16, 2011

This book didn't have as much of an impact on me as The Iron Duke, but it was still a very welcome kick in the pants that got me off my string of mediocre reading. There wasn't as much sexytimes as I've come to expect in romance novels nowadays, but the chemistry, tension, and character building more than captured my interest in a fulfilling way during the time any other H/h in any other book would be getting down and dirty.

The adventure plot in this story was really fun. I had a great time tagging along as Archimedes and Yasmeen evaded assassins, fought zombies, searched for treasure, hunted murderers in pursuit of vengeance, and sparked a city's rebellion. The action really kept my interest, and, other than the HEA (which is a given, after all), I never would have guessed the ending/resolution for the action/adventure. It was perfect for me, and let's just say that "HEA" is definitely not a misnomer here.

Going into this book, I was inclined not to like Yasmeen, who seemed so harsh and unforgiving in "The Iron Duke." Boy, was I wrong! Yasmeen is AWESOME. I loved her strength, her confidence, her cunning, her awareness, her self-sufficiency, EVERYTHING. She was a great character, and it was wonderful to see her softening towards Archimedes.

Archimedes is the guy that all you sexy beta lovers have been looking for all this time. He's strong and daring, but he's in tune with his feelings and emotions. He's waiting to fall in love with the right woman, and, yes, ladies and gents, Yasmeen is that woman. He's not afraid to let her know it, and it's very interesting and revealing to watch the progression of her reactions to his openness and candor. He is more than content to sit back and let his captain steer the ship, so to speak, while he supports and protects her in his own way. He's not a weakling by any measure, but he is aware of Yasmeen's strengths and ability to outfight him, which doesn't intimidate him, but rather attracts him all the more. That in itself shows a quiet confidence that was very hard to resist.

Both of these characters have quite complex backgrounds that we learn about as the story unfolds. I felt like I was getting to know them better as they got to know each other, and that also helped to pull me into the story. Their histories were revealed nugget by nugget, and the pacing was just right not to feel like an info dump, but enough to sate my curiosity.

In terms of the series, I don't think this would work as a standalone. I really think you need to read "The Iron Duke" first in order to get the full impact of what the history is with the Horde and how the nanoagents work. The author does mention some background elements in "Heart of Steel," but it wasn't enough to grasp the complexities and rather felt like a "refresher" from the first book, not a complete understanding.